Denmark May Seek Settlements in $2 Billion Dividend Tax Case

(Bloomberg) -- Denmark may be prepared to negotiate further settlements with defendants alleged to have illegally gained access to $2 billion in dividend tax refunds.

Lawyers for the Danish Tax Agency said in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday that they’ve developed a framework for reaching agreements with defendants, after already settling with 80 parties. The comments followed a plea to the judge from a defense attorney, who said some of his clients are running out of money.

Denmark alleges that a global network of financiers, lawyers and investors created fake pension plans and falsified stock transactions to seek refunds for dividend taxes they never paid on shares they never owned. Lawyers have filed dozens of civil suits in the U.S., U.K. and Dubai since 2015, and pursued criminal investigations at home. 

A spokesperson for the tax agency said it cannot comment on specific cases. Generally, any decision to settle depends on whether reaching an agreement has advantages, such as avoiding a case going to trial. 

‘Robber Baron’ in Fraud Case Says The Clue Was in His Name

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.